


pieces of thoughts of the hope

by macachee



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, all uchihas are merfolk, itachi's the merman though, kisame's a lifeguard, mermaid au, or merman au?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 14:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15293103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macachee/pseuds/macachee
Summary: “No, Shisui,” Itachi said firmly. He shook his head, long strands of pitch black hair falling into a curtain over his face. “The times have not changed, and you wouldn’t know even if they had. We can’t reveal ourselves. You know what will happen if I do.” He moved to face wide open ocean and left the cover of the rock that had hidden them from sight, his body splashing into the water. He gritted his teeth. “Let’s just go.”“Itachi, wait-” Shisui said, but he was already gone.





	pieces of thoughts of the hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shadowonthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowonthestars/gifts).



> Prompt:  
> Kisaita, domestic or mission setting, au or canon, i don't care about the plot as long as it has funny parts, fluff parts, maybe a bit of tension too? And why not a bit of smut (if you want). Just do whatever you want :D BUT DON'T KILL THEM

Itachi’s gaze followed the tall figure walking down the beach. He was crouched behind the cover of a small boulder, resting his lower half on the ragged ground beneath him and peering over the side. He did this fairly often; at least once or twice a week. Ever since he had crept above the waves and witnessed the lifeguard flawlessly save a child that had been swept from the shore, Itachi had been fascinated by him. Before then, Itachi had never been above the shelter of the sea, and the man certainly made an impression.

Whenever he watched him, he would follow the man’s movements and see him interact with the various the characters that wandered about the beach. Every time that he took control of a precarious situation and swung it into his favor, Itachi would silently marvel and commit the scene to memory, lingering on the lifeguard’s firm stature and commanding presence.

Itachi knew that if word got back to his clan, he would be locked up and lectured before he had even a chance to run. The only person who had any idea of what he was doing was-

“Hey, Itachi? Anybody in there?”

Itachi tore his eyes away from the lifeguard resting on the beach and barely withheld a gasp, trying to regain a semblance of composure. His fingers slipped on the rock before he regained his balance and he turned to the figure beside him. Shisui, seated precariously next to him, stared at him with furrowed eyebrows. His scrutinizing stare followed the trail of Itachi’s gaze and landed on the lifeguard, who was now walking around and grinning at other people on the surf. Shisui, now with a small smirk firmly in place, eyebrows raised, turned back to his cousin.

“Really? Again?” he asked playfully, laughing as Itachi glared at him. Itachi held the pose for a few seconds before sighing and relaxing his frame. 

“Yes, really,” Itachi returned, looking back at the lifeguard.

The man whom Itachi had been staring at was well built, with thick, rough muscles and tough skin that shone when the sunlight reflected the water covering his skin. His salty blue hair hardly moved in the wind, stiff from the ocean water that was as part of the man as his birthmarks.

That was one of the main reasons he had caught Itachi’s eye; the man was as comfortable as any mermaid when he stepped into the ocean, gliding easily enough to make any members of Itachi’s own family jealous. He welcomed the sea like an old friend, like he was lucky to have the opportunity to swim in its depths.

His cousin’s long exhale brought Itachi’s thoughts fleeing as he cleared his head. Shisui wiggled his eyebrows at Itachi and Itachi pushed him away. He sighed deeply.

“You know I can’t, Shisui,” Itachi muttered. Shisui looked up at him with a concerned gaze.

“But why can’t you?” Shisui questioned. “I know the textbook answer, but times have changed. Just go up to him and-”

“No, Shisui.” Itachi said firmly. He shook his head, long strands of pitch black hair falling into a curtain over his face. “The times have not changed, and you wouldn’t know even if they had. We can’t reveal ourselves. You know what will happen if I do.” He moved to face wide open ocean and left the cover of the rock that had hidden them from sight, his body splashing into the water. He gritted his teeth. “Let’s just go.”

“Itachi, wait-” Shisui said, but he was already gone.

…

Kisame sat on the sand with his eyes closed and his head resting on his hand. He’d had a late night last nate, not busy with work or women, but with Sasori. The stoic redhead had called him late last night asking for a plus one to accompany him to an art gallery.

“Why can’t Deidara do it?” Kisame had groaned, rolling over and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Sasori had pursed his lips before admitting, “Deidara and I aren’t exactly on the best of terms right now.” So they were on one of their off periods again. Great.

Kisame sighed. “Fine. Give me thirty minutes.”

Now, after getting a maximum of three hours of sleep, Kisame regretted ever having picked up his phone. He had no idea how Sasori did this every weekend and still looked calm and poised on every occasion that he had been seen at.

Kisame breathed slowly, taking in the atmosphere that surrounded him.

He smelt sea salt in the air, tasted it on his tongue, felt the sand beneath his body, nestling into every crevice it could find. The sunlight faded away, leaving only darkness beneath his eyelids.

He listened to the sounds that surrounded him, wincing at the squealing children and frowning when he heard a faint roll of thunder in the distance. He opened his eyes and sat upright. The beach had gone deathly silent, and Kisame felt the static roll over his arms.

He pushed himself into a standing position, scanning the beach around him. A strip of lightning lit up the raging sky and a crack rumbled through his bones.

“Run for cover,” he yelled, instructing people where the nearest safe location would be and checking the waters for stragglers. 

The seas were clear at first glance, and he began to turn and run for cover himself before he noticed a pale face among the dark waters. Kisame stopped in his surprise, giving away his concern, and the features quickly turned to panic, turning away to face the enraged ocean.

“Wait!” Kisame yelled, “It’s not safe! Hey-” He had already lost the face in the quickly darkening scene. “Dammit,” he cursed, shaking concerns about his personal safety out of his way and plunging into the depths that awaited him. 

The waters were, surprisingly, even rougher than he had expected them to be, whipping him around from side to side as he attempted to swim to where the face in the waters had been. His powerful muscles were barely helping him afloat, and he struggled to keep his head above the sea. 

Salt water invaded his mouth and he choked, momentarily stopping his motion in favor of hacking up his lungs. The water that had once felt like grace was killing him, manipulating him to be pulled down into the icy depths below. Kisame felt himself growing fainter, his vision growing darker, his limbs growing heavier. 

His eyes fluttered shut just as a hand closed around his ankle.

…

When Itachi saw the dark eyes of the man whom he had been watching for so long fix on him, he panicked, turning around and seeking refuge in the depths of the sea. Looking back behind him, he was shocked to see the lifeguard following behind, though it did not stay that way for long. As Itachi watched, the man stopped swimming and began sinking, trapped in the rough waves crashing above him.

Itachi hesitated at first. Merpeople were forbidden to be seen by men; the few times that they had allowed themselves to follow their heart and reveal themselves to sailors, they had been brutally murdered and studied by their prying eyes. Ever since, nobody had been allowed to interact with the world above the sea. Itachi had been pushing the rules just by observing the lifeguard with only a large rock to cover himself. 

But...he couldn't just let the man die. Watching him for so long, he had gathered enough information on the man to know that, though he had a rough and mean appearance, he truly cared about those around him, provided they felt the same. He had even, just now, without even knowing who Itachi was, dived into the chaos of the storm to save him.

With cautious but firm determination, Itachi swam towards the man and wrapped a hand around his ankle. He dragged the man towards him and, using his powerful, glittering tail, he pushed towards his cave, hurrying as fast as he could. 

Swimming faster than he ever had in his life, he quickly reached his cave and maneuvered the man onto the rocky ground, pushing him onto his side and forcing the water out of his lungs. The man coughed roughly for a long minute, barely seeming awake, before slipping back into unconsciousness. Itachi’s eyes flitted over his vulnerable form.

For all of his preparatory nature, Itachi had never foreseen a meeting with a human and didn’t know what to do. For the moment, the human seemed fine, if not a bit damp, but Itachi would never know how to tell the difference. “How to Care for Your Human” had certainly never been taught in his school, and merkind barely ever even poked their heads above the surface.

For now, though it appeared as if the only thing Itachi could do for now was wait. The man did not appear as if he was going to die anytime soon, and Itachi would just have to trust his instincts. He prayed that the man would be alright.

 

…

Kisame felt himself slowly fumble into awareness. He twitched his fingers, ever so slightly, and heard a sharp intake of breath and a low rustling a few feet away from him. He furrowed his eyebrows.

Quite frankly, he felt like shit. His body ached from swimming and exhaustion wrapped around every part of his being. He couldn’t even be bothered by the close sounds of something heavy being dragged over stone.

Finally, he built up enough energy to groan and turn, placing his arms on the ground and pushing up. His arms gave out just in time for another pair to catch him, though they were only enough to cushion his fall. The arms leveraged him into their controller’s lap, and thin fingers absentmindedly brushed specks of water from his face. He let out another low grunt before slowly opening his eyes.

The same pale face that he had seen however many hours before greeted him, though the brief glimpse that he had formerly managed would never have prepared him for this. Dark, almond shaped eyes peered out behind a soft face, which was framed with strands of raven black hair. Kisame just barely managed to hold himself back from touching the silky curtain, wanting to know if it was actually as soft as it appeared.

The face was so distracting that Kisame almost missed the feel of rough scales beneath his hand. His fingers spread wide on the thing underneath him, and he had felt enough fish to know what a tail felt like. Kisame saw his own panic reflected in the face above him and noticed that the person-he decided he was probably a man, despite the feminine features-barely held back a flinch as he decidedly pointed his eyes anywhere except on Kisame’s face.

Instead of doing the smart thing, Kisame, as he was wont to do, rasped, “What are you?” Immediately, the pale face in front of him turned sharp, unnaturally perfect jaw clenching and his tail rippled unpleasantly. His shoulders hunched in on themselves and he seemed even more adamant to focus on literally any other thing in existence. Kisame, though he was still fairly out of it, cursed himself internally for letting his mouth run faster than his brain.

“Wait, sorry,” he tried, leveraging himself into a more comfortable position. However, as soon as he tried, a terrible cough overtook his body and he shook violently, trying to force the last of the water from his lungs. Gentle hands rested on his back and he felt concerned eyes land on his back. Nimble fingers rubbed his back until his body decided that it was done torturing him.

“Are you alright?” questioned a calm, surprisingly deep voice from behind him. Kisame laughed bitterly, his lungs protesting as he did so.

“Depends on your definition,” he replied, finally sitting himself in an ideal position to face the other man. He wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand, grimacing at the taste in his mouth. He glanced up, meeting the other man’s eyes. 

He reached out his other hand, saying, “I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Kisame Hoshigaki. Who are you, exactly?”

The other man slowly reached out his own hand, and Kisame internally boggled at the red webbing in between his fingers, keeping his outward composure. “Itachi Uchiha,” he replied. They shook hands, lingering for a second longer than was strictly necessary, before letting go. 

Kisame tapped his nail against his leg for a minute for a second. Itachi simply sat there, his eyes not moving from the cool ground. The silence grew unbearably uncomfortable. Finally, Kisame relented.

“So, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but are you a mermaid?” he said, eyeing Itachi’s obvious red and black tail and fins. 

Itachi flushed a bit, but quickly regained his composure. He lifted his head up calmly stating, “I generally prefer the term merman, but yes, you are correct.”

Kisame stared. He stared a bit more. His eyes darted from the glittering black tail to the webbed fingers, to Itachi’s red gills-flush to his neck at the moment, as taking in oxygen through them would likely kill him-, to his fins. Though he was generally very smart and only acted stupid to fulfill his appearance, Kisame felt fairly slow at the moment. It was probably something to do with the sleep deprivation.

“That's cool,” he settled on saying. Itachi narrowed his eyes at him.

“That's all you have to say?” he asked incredulously. “You finally meet a real, actual, honest-to-god merman and that's all you have to say? ‘That's cool’?”

Kisame shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Never thought too hard about it, though living so close to the shore, you hear a lot of stories. My friend Zabuza has a friend named Kakashi that swears he saw a merman. He claimed that he cornered him while he was swimming, made out with him, and disappeared with a wink. He still apparently visits from time to time.”

Itachi stared.

Kisame continued, “Hey, maybe you know him. Black hair, scars over the right side of his face missing an eye? Ringing and bells?” 

This statement finally made Itachi move rubbing his temples and looking upwards as if praying for god to come down and save him, or maybe take him away from this awful place. “Goddamnit, Obito,” he whispered.

Kisame grinned. “So you do know him! He seemed pretty unforgettable, judging from what Kakashi’s said about him, if you know what I mean. And Kakashi’s kid, Naruto, said that he saw one too! A pretty young one, too. Black hair, about your coloring, what was his name?” Kisame pondered.

Meanwhile, Itachi had lost any hope that he had ever had in his family and a realization was dawning over him with the force of a thousand suns. “What is Sasuke?” Itachi asked hollowly.

Snapping his fingers, Kisame stretched his lips even wider into a sharkish grin. “That's the one!” he exclaimed. “You know him?”

At this point, Itachi no longer looked uncomfortable with his situation and just looked defeated. “He’s my little brother,” he sighed. He huffed out a breath and brought a small smirk onto his face. “Guess I really had nothing to worry about,” he muttered.

“Huh?” Kisame asked, raising his eyebrow.

Itachi shook his head, saying softly, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Kisame shifted his weight back onto the palms of his hands, glancing round at the cave that they were settled. “So, where are we exactly?” he questioned.

Itachi almost seemed surprised at the abrupt change in conversation, but quickly said, “After I saved you, I dragged you here. It was the nearest dry place that I knew of, and it is, coincidently, where I spend the majority of my time when apart my family.” He gestured to the items that littered the room in various neat stacks; books were the primary concern to Itachi, it seemed, but Kisame also spotted quite a few pieces of jewelry scattered about.

“Thanks, for that, by the way,” Kisame replied gratefully. “ I probably would've died if it hadn't been for you. Is there any way that I could repay you?”

Kisame eyed Itachi and winked, and judging by Itachi’s light blush, he knew exactly what Kisame was insinuating. “No, it's fine,” he said, though his facial expression said otherwise. “Besides, you wouldn't be in that position if you hadn't seen me. It's practically my fault.”

Kisame waved his hand dismissively, pausing after a second. “Actually, hold on. Why were you there? You don't exactly seem the type to go poking your head above water. Or, at least, to let yourself be seen.”

The merman’s face grew into an even darker shade of red at the comment and he looked away, picking away at the stray rocks that speckled onto his tail. He closed his eyes, deciding whether or not to tell the truth. Honestly, he had felt the storm coming and had known that, amidst the chaos and hurry, the chance that he would we spotted was greatly lower. He just wanted a closer look at the man that he had watched for so long. 

Itachi was right for wanting, too; from his current vantage point, he could make out the details of Kisame’s hard-earned muscles, his blocky, sturdy face, and the light birthmarks that stood out starkly on his dark skin. He studied Kisame’s face as he thought, and he knew that he was going to make the right decision.

After a long pause, Itachi spoke. “I was watching you.”

Kisame’s flirty grin faltered, and he cocked his head to the side. “You were...watching me?”

“Yes,” Itachi said, letting out the words before he could stop himself. “I do it often. You were actually the first thing that I saw of the outside would and you were certainly striking.”

Itachi watched a slow heat rise in Kisame’s cheeks and felt a strange sense of accomplishment. Despite the man’s unfortunate circumstances, the other had seemed fairly composed throughout the whole situation. Instead, Itachi had felt the most caught off guard; a clear inverse of what he was used to. Now, seeing the man flushed by something Itachi said was very empowering. 

“Well.” Kisame coughed. “That's...interesting. Not that it's bad, just- it's a lot to take in. That an honest-to-god merman thinks I'm worth stalking.”

“Well, of course. You are the most fascinating human that I've observed so far.” Itachi deliberately failed to mention that Kisame was, in fact, the only human that Itachi had bothered to observe, but it was the thought that counted.

“Uh, thanks. Wow.” Kisame rubbed the back of his neck. He abruptly changed the subject to process what the last part of their conversation meant. “So...what should we do now? Not to bother you, but it has been a while since I've eaten. How long have I been here, anyways?” 

“Only for a few hours,” Itachi assured, “ but yes, I can swim you to the shore. The storm should have subsided by now. You can go back.”

He didn't want to take Kisame back. If he did, then Kisame would have no reason to come back to Itachi. As far as Kisame knew, Itachi was only a stalker that had watched him for who knows how long before doing one good thing for Kisame. At best, Itachi was a creep that had come in handy.

Kisame studied Itachi’s face, saying, “Alright. You take me back, I'll grab some food, and then we can come back and talk some more.”

He grinned at Itachi's shocked face, maneuvering himself into the water. “Are we going or not?”

Itachi followed him, and distantly Kisame heard him mutter, “Shisui is never going to believe this.”

 

Omake

 

Itachi panted wildly, struggling to regain his breath, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. Kisame laid in largely the same position next to him.

Suddenly, Kisame started to choke out a laugh and turned to Itachi. “Guess you just got mer-laid,” he cackled as Itachi glared at him.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was good? I tried to fulfill the prompt as best as I could, but I probably messed it up, sorry. If I think about this enough and people like this enough, I might continue it? I have a few ideas.
> 
> The title is from Zedd's Lost at Sea, BTW.
> 
> Anyways, constructive criticism is always welcome, and feel free to point out any grammar or spelling mistakes. I'll try to fix them as soon as possible.


End file.
